It’s hip to be rectangular, but Samsung’s tablets are still ‘not cool’

To the exciting world of patent law. Here at UnderCurrent we would argue that a tablet is defined by its flat shape, touch screen and user-friendly apps. But a court in the UK has decreed that it has a lot more to do with street cred, rather than just the physical footprint of the device.

In a patent case between Samsung and Apple, Samsung argued that it was not infringing on the protected design of the Apple iPad with its Galaxy Tab 10.1, 8.9 and 7.7 devices.

In a win for Samsung, the judge presiding over the case ruled that “the Samsung tablets do not infringe Apple's registered design”. An apparent win for Team Korea, but not so.

Team Cupertino got their own back when His Honour Judge Birss QC announced that “the extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking” and that “the design looks like an object the informed user would want to pick up and hold.

“It is an understated, smooth and simple product. It is a cool design.”

By comparison, the Galaxy Tabs “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design”.

Put simply: “They are not as cool”.

Ouch. Just like that $3,000 overseas data roaming bill you got last summer, that's got to hurt.